1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to automated systems for washing and waxing vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a modification or a retrofit to existing automated vehicle washing systems that enables operators of existing systems to switch over to new, highly concentrated cleaning and waxing chemicals while still employing the same basic equipment used for conventional, less concentrated chemicals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chemicals used in automatic car washes are now available in highly concentrated formulas. However, most existing car wash equipment is designed to accommodate conventional, less concentrated chemicals. The present invention addresses the problem of converting automatic car washing equipment from conventional car cleaning and waxing chemicals to highly concentrated car cleaning and waxing chemicals without substantially replacing existing equipment or making expensive and time consuming modifications to the existing car washing equipment.
Existing North American car wash systems generally use conventional chemicals supplied in 55-gallon drums and European car washes generally use conventional chemicals supplied in 25 liter containers. The broad term "chemical" refers to detergents and other cleaning agents as well as to waxes, sealants and other conditioners. The chemicals are typically drawn out of the 55-gallon drum or 25 liter container with a pump, commonly referred to as a "feed pump" or a "direct feed pump", and then injected into an overhead "spray arch" of the car wash where they are mixed with water just before the chemical/water mixture is sprayed onto the vehicles.
While the chemical dilution capabilities of conventional spray arches have been satisfactory for washing systems employing conventional chemicals, the dilution capabilities of a conventional spray arch have proven to be insufficient for the highly concentrated chemicals now available. Specifically, conventional spray arches cannot achieve the high water to chemical dilution ratios required with highly concentrated chemicals and therefore, the use of highly concentrated chemicals with a conventional spray arch typically results in a chemical/water mixture having a relatively high concentration of chemicals. This leads to a substantial waste of the concentrated chemicals and makes it quite difficult to properly rinse the chemical/water mixture off of the vehicle after the cleaning step has been completed. Therefore, some modification of the existing vehicle washing systems is required before they can employ the more concentrated chemicals.
As noted above, the problem addressed by the present invention is how to retrofit or convert existing car wash facilities from using conventional detergents (supplied in 55-gallon drums or 25 liter containers) to highly concentrated detergents and waxes that may be in excess of ten times stronger or more concentrated than conventional chemicals. In essence, the conventional "direct feed pump" system discussed above is not capable of properly diluting the concentrated chemicals that are now available. Further, car wash operators will be very reluctant to convert from conventional detergents to highly concentrated detergents if an excessive amount of new equipment or modification of existing equipment is required. For example, the conventional direct feed pump of an existing vehicle washing system could theoretically be replaced with a commercially available precision low volume direct feed pump so that a precise low volume portion of concentrated chemical could be fed into the spray arch of the washing system. However, the cost of purchasing and installing a precision low volume feed pump would greatly outweigh the benefits of using concentrated chemicals. Therefore, there is a continuing need for equipment and methods that allow an existing vehicle washing system to be cost effectively modified so that the system can employ highly concentrated chemicals.
The proposed conversion from conventional chemicals provided in 55-gallon drums or 25 liter containers to highly concentrated chemicals provided in 5-gallon containers or 4 liter containers provides many ancillary benefits for car wash operations. First, the car wash operator will no longer be responsible for disposing of the 55-gallon drums or 25 liter containers which normally cannot be deposited in a normal trash bin. In addition, while 55-gallon drums are reusable, they are not recyclable.
Further, from the chemical manufacturer's point of view, to be able to supply concentrated chemicals in a 5-gallon container or 4 liter container, which may include a plastic bag of chemicals enclosed in a protective cardboard box, is highly desirable. First, sales personnel or account representatives can carry the boxes of chemicals in the trunk of a sedan; a truck or van for delivering the chemicals to car wash operators is not required. Second, the account representatives can move, replace and install the smaller boxes of highly concentrated chemicals is without assistance. In contrast, 55-gallon drums can weigh as much as 500 pounds which requires two or more people to move a 55-gallon drum full of chemicals. Workplace injuries as a result of moving of heavy objects such as a full 55-gallon drum can be avoided. Likewise, 25 liter containers may be quite heavy. Further, no special arrangements for the disposal of empty concentrate boxes or bags need to be made. The plastic bags held with the boxes can be recycled, as well as the cardboard box.
Thus, while the conversion from conventional car wash chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals provides benefits to both the chemical manufacturer and car wash operators, car wash operators will be reluctant to convert to the highly concentrated chemicals if a substantial amount of new equipment or modification to existing equipment is required in order to convert from the regular strength chemicals to the concentrated chemicals. The present invention specifically addresses this problem and provides a means for converting existing car wash operations from conventional chemicals to concentrated chemicals without an excessive amount of new equipment or modification to existing equipment.